Tjoes Training Journal

[tjoe]

10 sets of 10 reps at 275... ROUGH!
I went in at 10:00 and finished just before 12:30
I didn't get 275 on the bar until just after 10:30 so those 10 sets were just under 2 hours long. BIG breaks, move weight, that was the goal.
That day took a lot out of me for sure. Loved it!

[tjoe]

[tjoe]

Well, no new posts in this section for MONTHS. Thats sad but I haven't been any better. I've still been training and there are a bunch of videos on youtube.
I did my usual Russian taper program for the last 3 weeks and went in today to see if I had the ole 405 in the tank...

light warms ups followed by:
315 x 2 very easy. normally these feel heavy no matter what so this was a good sign
365 x 1 fast. no lift off, solid pause, right up
405 x 1 slow and steady. no lift, great pause, slow but smooth all the way up
430 x 0, I knew I wouldn't get it but my best ever was 425. I wanted to see how it felt, surprisingly, good. no issues.

I weighed in at 222.0 this morning. Exactly 50 pounds up from my 172 this past summer.
I told my self going into this that if I missed or it felt awful I would be back on the diet this afternoon. If it felt good I would push to see if I can get to 430 for a new PR. I'm still torn a bit as I would like to be in better shape but I know that doesn't go with big numbers. And honestly, the bench felt great today. That tapering program really works very well for me. I feel pretty shitty the entire 3 weeks but I feel incredible the day of the lift, which is point I suppose.

Time will tell, I'll see what happens.

[tjoe]

So, just to catch up...
I hired a strength coach (Josh Bryant) to try and hit that 430 in 12 weeks.
I questioned the training the whole time because I was always super setting the bench with heavy rows and mostly using timed rest periods (3 minutes). All other rest periods were timed to 60-90 seconds. This goes against everything I have ever done for strength. I gave it the benefit of the doubt because of who he is and who he trains. It didn't work AT ALL for me.
In week 11, I was supposed to hit a triple with 360, no way that was happening. Week 12 was a "deload" week. There was never a build up or taper down to an attempt at 430 which is what I was expecting.
Today I was rested up and decided to see where I was at (did NOT do his routine last week), took Monday off. I hit 365 for a very HARD single.
Looking back at my videos I hit 380 at 209.4 on 2-1-20. I did 275 for 10 x 10 on 2-8-20 at 211.4. Not to mention the above post on May 9th.
So that is that.

[tjoe]

So, with that said...
My diet starts back up on Saturday August 22nd.
I'm only "ok" with being fat if I have the strength to go with it and it's just not happening. I really think I could push that 405 limit (not sure about hitting 430) if I did things my way again and stayed heavier, but I don't feel like staying heavier for any longer. As you see in the above posts I was teetering on going back to the diet back in May when I attempted the 405. So even then I was already getting "uncomfortable".
This is the basic plan:

First meal will be "lunch" somewhere between 10:00 and noon. Whenever I get hungry.
Training after work, no special drinks aside from an electrolyte mix (Re-Lyte).
Eggs for dinner (maybe bacon, cheese etc.)
Keto coffee at night with a decaf k-cup. Most likely coconut oil, ghee, cinnamon, turmeric...

I'll see how that goes for a bit and tweak from there.
I would like to through in some fasting as I really felt good doing that last year. I would probably aim for a full day so probably in the range of 30ish hours or so. Thats jumping ahead a bit though.
Next 1.5 weeks, just doing whatever, no plan.

[tjoe]

So, I didn't journal my entire "diet" phase, lol.
Doesn't matter, I'm off the diet. I had a training session in which I benched 275 for a very hard 2 and missed the third rep. I haven't trained for 30 years to get 275 for a double.
So, I'm not doing ANY diet at all, I'm just eating. Trying not to go crazy in either direction. I'm going to focus on my bench like I should have stuck with anyway.
I should not have hired Josh, I should have continued doing what I was doing. I'll probably never learn.

So in the last 2 weeks I've pressed 8x.
I started on a Sunday just punishing myself on a smith machine for tons of sets. Full range, into pin presses, then higher pin presses until it was just lockouts and then back to full range at the end. I was wrecked. The following week I pressed 4x and then this week another 3x. Next week I'll press on Monday and Wednesday and see where my max is at on Friday.
To do all of this I actually used the Russian peaking program I like so much but ran it backwards so everything ramps UP instead of tapering down. I believe I used a max of 315. I think... lol
I also purchased some bands from elitefts. I recall years ago when they were a steady part of training I had a "different" feeling. I may have missed something heavy, but it never felt heavy if that makes sense. I am also SLOWER than I have every been and it is VERY noticeable.

Hopefully I can keep up with the journal again. Even if no one else looks at it, I find myself going back through it year after year.

[tjoe]

So, I'm not sure what days these were on but heres the last 2 weeks of my backwards Russian routine:

Session 1
160 x 3
190 x 3, 3
220 x 2, 2, 2

Session 2
160 x 3
190 x 3, 3
220 x 2, 2
240 x 1, 1, 1, 1

Session 3
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 3, 3
240 x 2, 2, 2, 2

Session 4
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 3, 3
255 x 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Session 5
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 3, 3
255 x 2, 2, 2
270 x 1, 1, 1

Session 6
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 3, 3
255 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
short break and then:
160 x 4
190 x 4
220 x 4, 4, 4, 4

Session 7
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 3, 3
255 x 3, 3
270 x 2, 2, 2

[tjoe]

I'll update the above later...
For now this is the new routine I have for the foreseeable future...


Speed day

• 9 sets of triples using 3 different grips and bands. Be FAST
• 2 sets of DB presses for 20 reps. Change the angle each workout.
• Barbell or DB Ext for 5-6 sets of 8 heavy reps. Change the exercise only when progress stalls.
• 100 pressdowns with any grip
• Laterals, front and side
• Hammer curls

Back day 1

• Row variation that allows heavy weight. Multiple low reps sets.
• Row variation that allows more squeeze. Fewer sets of higher reps.
• Any rear delt movement
• Hammer curls

Heavy Day

• 1A. 3 week wave: 6 sets of 4, 5 x 5, 4 sets of 6 all with the same weight
• 1B. Pick a max effort move and work up to a heavy single, then do 1-2 holds with 110% of current max for apx 6 seconds each.
• 1C.3 week wave: 5 sets of 3, 4 x 4, 3 sets of 5 all with the same weight
• 1D. Pick a different max effort move and work up to a heavy single, then do 1-2 with 110% of current max for apx 6 seconds each.
• Pressdowns any grip, 4 sets of 25 reps
• Laterals, front and side
• Hammer curls

Back day 2

• Chins. As many sets as need to reach 50 total reps
• Pulldowns, close or underhand grip. No less than 12 reps
• Shrugs, any method but very heavy. Multiple lower reps sets.
• Hammer curls

[tjoe]

I have been very fast off the chest even when I lost a lot of strength...
After the half way point I SLOW dramatically.
I feel bands were in order so they are in the mix on speed day. I should get faster and I should push through to lockout better.
I didn't write everything down yesterday which was the first speed day but I will try in the future.

I did stay with 135+bands for my speed sets.
I did do 30s for my 2 sets of overhead db presses, seated
I did work up to 40s for rolling db Extensions for 3 sets of 8 reps
I used 55 for straight bar pressdowns for 100 reps
front laterals increased in weight I think 20, 25 and the 30s all for 15s
sides stayed the same for 3 sets I think at 20s
and hammers I knocked out 2 sets of 30s for I believe 20 then 25 reps

Actually felt really good and even though it was just day 1 I could feel the difference with the bands.
We'll see how it goes.

[tjoe]

Back day 1 at work:
1 arm db rows worked up to the 100 for 3 sets of 10 reps
cable row, cambered bar, standing, forget the weight but a 2-3 sets of 20 reps, felt great
rear laterals with head resting on a bench, 15lbs kettlebells, 3 sets of 20
hammer curls, cable with rope attachment, worked up pretty heavy

[tjoe]

"Heavy" bench day (at the gym since I was home for Black Friday this year)
bench, worked up to 280 for 6 sets of 4 reps
straight bar press downs 100 lbs for 4 sets of 25 reps
barbell front raise 45 x 10, 55 x 10, 65 x 10, 75 x 10
db side raises 20s x 10, 30s x 10, 40s x maybe 5-6 good reps but kept getting partials until 10
alt db hammer curls 30s x 10, 40s x 10, 50s x 10

[tjoe]

and so I don't forget to log em in, heres sessions 8, 9 and 10 from prior to switching up the routine:

session 8
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 3, 3
255 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

session 9
175 x 3
205 x 3, 3
240 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

session 10
160 x 3
190 x 3
220 x 2, 2
255 x 2
285 x 1
315 x 1
335 x 1
350 x BARELY missed

So that just gave me a number to put in my head for further training.
So when I switched routine and have to do 6 sets of 4 then 5x5 and finally 4 sets of 6, I used 350 as the max and went with 80% for those sets. That where I got the 280 for my sets yesterday.

[tjoe]

So, just for an update:
The sets of 280 yesterday felt a bit on the heavy side to me, especially after Thanksgiving calories. Also slow up top like usual lately. That being said however, 6 sets of 4 at 280 is WAY better than 275 for a hard double from a 3-4 weeks ago. I know I am going to have to give the speed days some time to kick in. Thats fine.
Sarahs surgery is next week so I'll see how training goes around that. Perhaps I can get in on Sunday instead of Monday and then I can focus on Sarah and maybe squeeze in on Wednesday if she's doing ok...

[tjoe]

at the gym:
neutral grip chins
3 sets of 8 reps

close grip pulldowns
100 x 12
130 x 12
150 x 12, 12

db shrugs
80s x 10
100s x 10
120s x 10, 10

db hammer curls
35s x 10
45s x 8
55s x 6, 6, 6

Pretty good day. I feel like I could have done some more sets but with no rest day and "speed day" tomorrow I didn't want to go too crazy. I have to think long term and main goal. Todays training is just to support my bench goal so I didn't want to take away from tomorrows session.

[tjoe]

At work:
speed bench
135 9 triples

90 degree db shoulder press
40s x 2 sets of 20 reps

rolling db ext
up to 40s 4 sets of 8 reps *felt much better/easier than last week

str8 bar pressdowns
55 x 100 reps

db alt front raise
30s x 3 sets of 10 reps

db side laterals
20s x 3 sets of 15 reps

rev grip barbell curl
45 x 2 sets of 25 reps